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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian's two-year tenure was terminated a just over two weeks after he led Tottenham to a win in the European final, securing the club's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the side finishing in a lowly 17th position in Postecoglou's final campaign in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

"He was a fantastic manager. I have a lot of respect for him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he's the manager that brought a trophy to Tottenham," he continued.

"Later, when he was dismissed, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, taking over from Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, collecting an impressive points haul from his opening 10 league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the club's form deteriorated, eventually failing to secure a top-four finish by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team was missing a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Cristian Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more secure at the back. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the break," he said.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion Romero and I approached the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"